How Did This Happen?
by CrazyApplesandOranges
Summary: Hermione has always known that her parents were Death Eaters and that they fled Britain with the Malfoy's the first chance they got. But now Voldemort has control of Hogwarts. And he wants his most loyal followers back. Discontinued, adopted by xXBelieverXx
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I am such a bad person! I say I'm not gonna write any more Harry Potter, and look what I did. I wrote more Harry Potter! Although, truthfully, I think if I didn't write this soon, I was gonna go crazy. Though, I already am pretty crazy. . . I'm confusing myself. Oh well!

Disclaimer: No matter how much I would like to, I do not own Harry Potter.

"Hermione Sophia Zabini, if you are not up and out of bed in the next thirty seconds, I will drag you outside!" I heard Blaise shout up the stairs.

I hugged the covers closer to me, but I knew that my brother would go through with his threat. "Hermione! Come on! We're going to be late again!" Blaise yelled again.

"Crap!" I screamed. I could not afford to get to school late again. I had been late too many times to count this year, and it was only December. What can I say? I like sleeping.

I jumped out of bed and grabbed my clothes off of the end of my bed, running into the bathroom. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and threw my clothes on. Then I put my hair up in a messy bun, before scrambling downstairs and slipping my feet into my boots. I pulled my coat on and grabbed my bag, before dashing outside and literally diving into the open car door.

"Three and a half minutes. New record." my older brother, Chris, said, hitting the gas pedal.

"Hermione, you really need to get up earlier." Blasise remarked, tossing me my bag lunch.

"But it's the last day of school before winter break. I don't want to be up when I could be sleeping." I said, putting my lunch in my backpack.

"Whatever." Chris said.

The same thing happened every morning. I would sleep in late, Blaise would yell at me, I would get ready and be out the door in less than five minutes, and we would go to school. Usually, we would be late, but we weren't the only ones during the winter, due to the icy roads, and sometimes we would be let off the hook. Not all the time though. It doesn't matter that I've known these people my entire life.

We lived in Paradise, Michigan (the UP, not the lower), and it is one of the smallest towns there is. It was mostly a wizarding community, but there were a few Muggles here and there. At school, they taught mostly magical subjects, but we had basic math, reading, writing. The people in charge thought that it was good for young wizards and witches to know how to write a decent paper, or how to divide.

Chris parked in front of Paradise High School and I tumbled out of the car and into the cold winter air. I shivered and wrapped my coat tighter around my body. Even after living here my whole life, I still wasn't used to how cold the winters were.

I walked up the icy steps and into the warm air inside. I hurried further down the hall and to my locker. There were still students in the hall, which was good, because it meaned the bell hadn't rung yet. I opened my locker, which I just thought was stupid, because if you knew how, you could use magic to open someone's locker. Really, how stupid are those people in charge of this school?

I grabbed the books I needed for first period, closed the locker door, and went to my first class. I yawned, and opened the heavy wood door leading into the History of Magic room. According to my mother, at Hogwarts, the History of Magic teacher was a ghost. The funny thing was, the teacher here was a ghost, too. Sometimes, I wondered if all History of Magic teachers were ghosts.

I sat down in my usual spot in the back, and opened my notebook to a clean page. Not that I was planning on taking any notes, but Rocky might take some for me. Not likely, but I can hope.

Rocky was one of my best friends. She was one of the best students on our grade, and it was nice to have her as a friend when I needed to borrow her notes. Which happened a lot.

Slowly, the rest of the class sat down in their seats, and I got sleepier and sleepier. I was just about to fall asleep, when Rocky kicked me under the table, hard, and I glared at her. "What?" I hissed.

"Class is starting." she said. I glanced up, and sure enough, Mr. Blinkman was floating there, ready to start class. I figured it was only going to be a review, though, because it was the last day of school before winter break. So I turned to Rocky and looked at her.

Rocky came form a family of colorful people. Literally. Her dad has lime-green hair, with green eyes, and her mom has bright pink hair with dark pink eyes. Her sister had purple hair and eyes, while Rocky had blue hair and purple eyes. Every person on her family has had an abnormal color for their hair and eyes. No one knows why they are like that.

Today, Rocky's dark blue hair was up in a sloppy pony, and instead of her normal jeans, she was wearing sweatpants. She wasn't wearing any makeup, which was surprising for her, because she wore some every day.

"Rocky," I whispered. She turned to me, her face void of any emotion.

"What?" she said quietly.

"Will you let me go back to sleep?" I asked.

She glared at me and turned back to Mr. Blinkman. I rested my chin on my palm and fell asleep.

When Rocky woke me up after class was over, I thanked her and grabbed my books. I went back to my locker and grabbed my books for the rest of the morning. Maybe I would be able to get some more sleep in the rest of my classes.

/

I hunted through my backpack for my lunch, and found it, finally. Then I walked down to the lunchroom, sitting down at my regular table. Blaise was already there, and I kicked his leg gently when he didn't look up form the table.

"Oh, hey, Hermione." he said. "How has your day been?"

I shrugged. "I slept through most of my classes."

"Hermione." he warned.

"What? I'm fully rested now. I'm not goint to sleep through the rest of my classes."

"You are impossible."

"But that's why you love me."

Sometime during our conversation, Ryan had sat down next to me. He was originally one of Blaise's friends, but then we met, and, yeah. I think you can figure out what happened then. Now we're all friends.

"Hey, did you hear about Voldemort in Britain?" he said, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"No." I said, emptying my lunch on the table. "Oooh! Cold pizza, my favorite."

"Apparently, Voldemort finally has control of Hogwarts. The headmaster was killed."

"When did this happen?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know. My parents were talking about it last night, and I just happened to hear it. I think it happened a while ago, though. The newspapers just weren't able to report it." Ryan said.

"Does anyone know if he's going to come here?" I asked, finishing my pizza and going on to my Cheez-its.

"No one knows. For all we know, he could already be here, and we would never know."

A/N: Okay, so this is the first chapter of this story. I've had this idea, like, all summer. I just now wrote it, seeing as I'm home sick. I have the time. I'll try to get some other chapters up. Ummm. . . in case you couldn't understand, basically Blaise and Hermione are twins, with an older brother. If they were at Hogwarts, it would be their seventh year.

Please, review! It might make me feel not like crap!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Second chapter! Congratulations to me!

Draco Malfoy walked over and sat down across from me, breaking the awkward silence our group had come to. "Why's everyone so quiet?"

"Because you showed up," Ryan said teasingly. Draco pouted and took a bite out of his sandwich.

"I hate all of you," he muttered.

"No, you don't, because if you did, you would not be here right now." I pointed out happily. He thought about that for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He finally said. I smirked triumphantly.

When my family left Britain, years ago, when I was a year old, the Malfoy's came with us. My mother had told me the story of Voldemort and all that, so I had a rough idea of what had happened.

Basically, my parents were forced to become Death Eaters. They didn't agree with Voldemort on his ideas of blood purity, and all the other crap he thought, so the moment they could, they fled Britain. They knew what it would be like if they stayed, so they went to America, where the war had not affected the hundreds of people living there.

They had found Paradise, and when they learned that there was a wizarding school for when we were older, they made their decision. We were staying. Dad found a job in the "Diagon Alley" of America, and he could easily Apparate there in the morning. Mom found a job once we were old enough to walk to school, and she's worked as a waitress ever since.

Draco lived close to us, walking distance, actually, so we could car pool if we wanted, but any time we tried that, he always got another ride, saying that "Hermione is too slow, and I don't want to be late every day." Sometimes I wondered if he was actually a Malfoy, because he seemed to be too rude to be related to Narcissa and Lucius. Then I would remember that he had the blonde hair, and that hope was crushed.

Now, Draco was one of my best friends, and I definitely like a brother to me, but even I got tired of him. I would never tell him that, though, because he would hate me for years afterwards (yeah, he's the kind to hold grudges, he's the king of them).

". . . Christmas break?" Rocky had sat down on my other side, and had started talking.

"I think we're staying here this year." Blaise said.

Sometimes, our families took a trip to Britain, just to check up on things. We hadn't gone the last couple of years, but sometimes Dad went on "business trips" for long periods of time. Business trips my butt. I knew that he was with Voldemort because he called for him. I'm not stupid. Dad works in a book store, for God's sake!

I finished my lunch, and threw the paper bag at Draco, which he easily caught. He raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged. "What? I didn't want to get up." He rolled his eyes and I laughed. Even if Voldemort walked through the cafeteria doors right now, I wouldn't be scared, because I had my friends. And a wand, but that's not the point.

/

At dinner that night, we ate steak, mashed potatoes and green beans. Dad was intently listening as Chris talked about. . . something. I'm not sure. Mom was. . . I don't know what she was doing, and Blaise and I were having a staring contest. I couldn't remember how we started this.

I blinked rapidly when Blaise sneezed, closing his eyes. "I win!" I said happily.

"That wasn't fair! I sneezed!" Blaise argued.

"It was totally fair!" I retorted.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Mom!"

Mom looked up from her plate in surprise, not realizing that the conversation had stopped due to our argument. "Neither of you were right, now shut up and eat your dinner before it gets cold."

The great words of wisdom that I had heard so many times before. Thank you, great Mother of mine.

"Dad, what happened during the war? What killed the snake-man?" Ah, Blaise, only you would use that word to describe Voldemort.

"Why do you want to know?" Dad asked. Blaise shrugged.

"Just curious."

I knew it was a lie, he wanted to know more about the war because of the conversation we had had at lunch. Truthfully, I did too.

Mom and Dad looked at each other over the table. They seemed to have a conversation without ever opening their mouths.

They must have come to a decision, because seconds later, they looked away, and Mom said, "Maybe later. We have to talk a little before we do anything."

No, you're going to talk to the Malfoy's, and then come to your decision, I wanted to say, but I held myself back. It wouldn't be good if I got myself grounded on the first day of Christmas break.

I finally nodded. "Okay, but you've got to remember, we have sources. We can find all of this out if you decide to not to tell us what we want to know."

Mom nodded. "Sure, whatever."

I went back to my potatoes. Blaise started a conversation with Chris, and Mom and Dad sat silently.

A/N: WHOO! Almost three pages! Be proud. It took me forever to type this. Please review! I want to get 5 reviews before I update again, at least. It makes me happy to see those reviews in my inbox.


	3. Chapter 3

I stared silently out the window above my brother's bed, listening to Blaise's quiet snores. I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. For the longest time, I had talked to Blaise, but he had fallen asleep hours ago, leaving me wide awake with nothing to do.

I sat up, letting the blankets fall down into my lap. I swung my legs out of bed, creeping over to the closed door. I pulled it open slowly, carefully, listening for the sound of my parents voices. I didn't hear them , but I knew they were awake. Their light was on, shining under their door down the hall, the room closest to the stairs.

I slipped out the door and down the stairs, into the kitchen. The stove clock said it was 3:26, and I sighed. There was no way I was going to fall asleep now. Might as well stay down here.

I grabbed a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels. Passing the stairs on my way down to the basement, I froze.

"We can't tell them yet." Mom's quiet voice floated down the stairs to my ears.

"We have to. You-Know-Who is back, and they know it. We have to get the kids ouut of here before he comes and takes them." Dad argued.

What were they talking about? I placed the water and pretzels on the floor and climbed the stairs quietly, stopping halfway.

"But we don't have to tell them to get them out of here." Mom said.

"Yes, we do. Maya, they're going to aske questions, questions we can't answer without telling them the whole story. You know that, the Malfoy's know that, I know that." Dad said. "We can't protect them forever. Chris is already eighteen, and Blaise and Hermione are seventeen. They're old enough to know the story, and learn from our mistakes."

I could just imagine Dad putting his arms around Mom, sitting on the bed, comforting her.

"I know you're right," Mom said finally, her voice choked. "But I was hoping that it wouldn't be now. I was hoping that moving to America would keep us safe, protect us from You-Know-Who."

"It's okay. We can get through this. Everything will be okay."

Their voices quieted so that I couldn't hear them, and I backed away, down the stairs, grabbing my snack and drink in a daze.

I turned the TV on in the basement, but ignored whatever was on. I was too caught up in what my parents had said. What did they mean, Voldemort would come after us? And what were they not telling us?

"Hermione? What are you doing up?" Chris asked, coming to sit next to me.

"Couldn't sleep." I answered. I curled up next to him, and he automatically put his arm around me.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes," I lied. "Everything's fine."

A/N: Jeez, I am writing pathetically short chapters lately. I'm losing my touch, or something.


	4. Chapter 4

Mom seemed out of it all day, and she acted like she wanted to avoid us. Proof of this is that she went to work today, even though it was a Saturday and she didn't have to work. When she realized that, she didn't come back home; she spent all day at the Malfoy house.

As I contemplated Mom and Dad's conversation from last night, I crept into Chris' room. He had fallen asleep, even though it was only eight at night, and I didn't want to wake him up. Even though I needed his laptop.

As I glanced around the messy room, I sighed quietly; Chris never was the cleanest, but this was ridiculous. It was clear that Mom hadn't been in here for a while, because Chris would have been murdered for the disaster he called his room.

_Focus_, I thought to myself. _I need to find the laptop_. I nearly tripped over a baseball bat in my quest, and I swore quietly to myself when I stepped on a plate of old pizza. Yep; I was definitely telling Mom about this.

I fought my way over to the old desk in the corner, and shoved aside piles of homework that had never been turned in, textbooks, pens, tissues—God, it was amazing how my brother wasn't failing school with the amount of crap on his desk.

I froze as Chris snorted in his sleep, twisting around to see that he had rolled onto his side and was facing me now. His eyes were still closed, and his breathing was still even, so he wasn't awake, but I still had to take a moment to calm my racing heart. Chris slept like the dead most of the time, but on occasion he would wake up at the slightest noise.

I muttered under my breath when I couldn't find the laptop on his desk, and I turned my gaze on the only other place it could be: next to Chris' bed. A corner of his silver laptop was peeking out from under a pair of jeans.

As I carefully made my way over there, Chris mumbled in his sleep, twitching. I ignored it, hoping and praying that he wouldn't wake up. I poked the jeans aside and happily picked up the laptop, before slowly making my way back to the door.

I closed the door with a sigh of relief, but nearly screamed when someone laughed at me from the room across from Chris'—which was actually mine and Blaise's.

When I whipped around and saw that it was only my twin, I scowled at him, pushing past him to collapse on my bed.

I never knew being a spy was such hard work.

"You know," Blaise mused as he sat down on the bed across from mine. "You could have just asked him."

"No." I said. "Not for what I'm doing."

He arched an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

I turned the laptop on and watched absently as it loaded. I glared as I tried to remember my brother's password. "Searching the war." I answered, and I grinned when the password I typed in worked. Jeez, my brother needed better passwords.

"Searching the war," Blaise repeated. "And which war are we talking about? Because there are several wars, you know."

"Which one do you think, moron? The one with Voldemort."

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I couldn't figure out how to proceed with that, so I just ended it there. But please, review. My birthday's coming up, and it would be like a present to see those emails waiting for me in my inbox.


	5. Chapter 5

I whined and exited out of yet another useless website. God, why were so many of these websites about people who had been involved in the war and not about Voldemort?

Of course, I could always ask my parents, but…they might suspect me. That wouldn't be good. I could always lie and say that it was for a school project, but they knew that I was a procrastinator and that I always finished my projects the day before it was due.

Lying would do me no good.

"Blaise!" I called wearily. "Come here and help me research."

My twin appeared behind me, leaning over my shoulder. "Why should I?"

"Because I covered for you when you skipped school that one day with Draco. I could have easily told Mom and Dad."

"I hate you." He said, but he looked at the screen and started spouting off suggestions. When an hour later we hadn't found anything, I gave up.

"Okay! We have to use our last resort." I got up from the couch and marched upstairs, Blaise trailing behind me.

"Dad?" I called. "I need your help!"

Dad poked his head out from the kitchen, where he was pulling on his coat. "Yes, Hermione?"

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

"I have to go pick up your mother, then we're going out to dinner. You're on your own." He said, plucking his car keys out of his pocket. "Whatever you need help with I'm sure can wait."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I said as he walked out the door. "Well," I sighed. "There goes my last resort."

Chris trudged down the stairs, sleepy-eyed, hair tousled from his nap and yawning.

"Hey, guys," he said, stretching. "What's for dinner?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever's easy to make, I guess."

I moved into the kitchen and searched the pantry, finding a box of spaghetti in the back. I pulled it out and found a pot, filling it with water and dropping it onto the stove. I turned it on and hopped up onto the counter, swinging my legs as I waited for the water to boil.

"So?" I said. "What should we do? We need to learn more about the war."

Chris scratched his stomach, yawning again. "Have you tried the internet?"

I glared at him. "Of course I tried the internet. Do you think I'm stupid?"

My older brother chose not to answer that question.

"Well," Blaise said. "We could try to corner Dad at the time he's most likely going to answer our questions without suspicion."

"Great idea," I said sarcastically. "But Dad's always working now. Then he's either at the Malfoy's or sleeping."

"We'll get him before he's asleep. Right when he's lying down. If we do that, he'll be too tired to resist us." He said.

I stirred the noodles, staring down at my socks. "We can try it," I agreed finally. "But I don't think it will work."

"Great!" Chris said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nap to take."

"You just took a nap." I pointed out. He raised his hands defensively.

"I know that! But staying up all night with you is not easy, okay? I need my sleep!"

"Whatever." I sighed, ignoring my brothers. Isn't it funny how things could always work out one way, while there's always the chance of them working out completely different?

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! But I felt that you guys who are still reading this story and like it could use an update. And truthfully, if I waited for more inspiration for this chapter, you wouldn't get another update for a couple years.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Blaise threw one of his socks at me. I hadn't even fully woken up yet before I had thrown my pillow at him with deadly accuracy. He glared at me as finished pulling on his shirt, and I scowled right back as I sat up and stared at the clock.

It wasn't even seven yet.

"Why the hell did you wake me up so early?" I whined, standing up.

"Because you have a visitor," Blaise replied, walking out the door. I cocked my head to the side and followed, grabbing my sweatshirt off the end of my bed.

"Who could be wanting to see me this early in the morning?" I wondered.

"Rocky's sister," Blaise answered. I frowned.

"What does she want?"

"I don't know. She's like, four years older than me."

"And our parents are nearly twenty years older than us," I countered. "What's the problem?"

"This is a woman, Hermione," Blaise said, like that made sense to me at all.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" I said.

He glanced at me suspiciously, but dropped the subject. I pulled the sweatshirt over my torso, shaking my head to get my dark hair out of my face. I yawned.

Rocky's sister was sitting on the couch, her makeup smeared by tears. I frowned, sitting down across from her.

Emma's purple hair was down; she must have been getting ready to go to work, or something. She had a job at the local grocery store, and it paid well enough for her to take college classes. She was studying to become a teacher, I think. I waited for her to look up at me.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" I asked gently. She stared at me with watery violet eyes, clenching her fist against her black jeans.

"Rocky was kidnapped!"

"What?" I said, the words not processing. "What do you mean, she was kidnapped?"

"R-rocky was taken, and I don't know what to do!" Emma sobbed, burying her face in her hands. I slid over to the couch and put my arm around her shoulders, looking up at Blaise helplessly.

"Why don't you tell us what happened, and then we'll figure out what to do?" I said softly, coaxing my friend's sister to stop crying. She sniffled, wiping her eyes.

"W-well, I was coming home yesterday from work, and the front door was unlocked. Mom and Dad are visiting family in Florida, so I figured that Rocky had just forgotten to lock it," she said shakily. "But the house was trashed, like there had been a fight, and there was a bit of blood on the couch. Rocky was nowhere in sight, and the kidnappers left a note. Hermione, I don't know what to do!"

I sucked in a breath, staring desperately at my brother. He was looking just as disheartened.

"Did you call your parents?" I questioned. She nodded.

"They didn't pick up. I left a message."

"Did you bring the note with you?"

She whimpered and dragged her purse to her side, digging through it before producing a piece of paper. She handed it to me and dropped her head back into her hands. I patted her back as I read the note.

_We have taken the girl. Join us or you'll never see her again. _

_Death Eaters_

"B-Blaise," I stammered, the note fluttering to the ground. "They know where we are. _They know_."

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" he asked, stooping to snatch the paper off the floor. He scanned the short sentences before shaking his head. "No, no this can't be them."

"Blaise," I whispered, pointing to the sign in the corner. The Dark Mark. "It can only be them."

I shuddered and my arm tightened around Rocky's sister. Who else could they take if they had kidnapped Rocky?

Anyone they wanted.

/\/\

Dinner that night was strained. The new of Rocky's kidnapping was devastating, and knowing that my best friend was in some dungeon in Britain somewhere because of me and my family was not making me feel any better.

Mom wasn't eating, just twirling her fork around her salad. Dad was clenching his knife and fork so tightly his knuckles were white, and Chris wasn't even attempting to pretend he was enjoying the food he was eating.

Blaise and I weren't much better. How could we eat when one of our best friends was no longer with her family, all because of us?

Mom finally dropped her fork on her plate, the silverware making a clatter as it smacked the dish. She glared at the wall, until finally she said, "All three of you. Pack."

I stared at her. "Mom? What are you talking about?"

"You three have to leave. I can't take the risk of you getting hurt," she said, gazing at the painting behind me. "Chris can drive you somewhere safe, somewhere he can't get you."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't stay here anymore. It's not safe. You have to get out," Mom said, her voice rising with frustration. I glanced at my brothers.

"Maya," Dad said, laying a hand on Mom's arm. "Maya, honey, you have to calm down. Don't you think you should explain?"

"No!" Mom shrieked desperately. "Richard, they don't need to know. Why should they? The less they know, the safer they are!"

Dad lifted his dark gaze to mine, and he said, "Go pack for a road trip, kids."

Mom was borderline hysterical when we left, and I looked back one last time to see that Dad was whispering to her sadly.

I turned away and hurried up the stairs.

I dragged my suitcase out from under my bed, the dark red comforting and familiar amongst the chaos that was my life now. I dragged a variety of clothes out of the closet, folding them as neatly as I could and shoving them into the suitcase.

Blaise had disappeared into the bathroom, coming out minutes later with four bags – any toiletries we could ever need. He tossed two over to me, and I squeezed them in along with the clothes.

Then I grabbed another bag from the back of the closet and packed anything I would use on a car trip into it. Then I sat on my bed and stared out the window numbly, trying to sift through the thoughts overriding my brain.

Dad walked in a few moments later. He sat down next to Blaise and just stared at both of us for a long time.

"You guys understand that you need to leave for your safety," he finally said. His voice cracked. "As long as you follow our directions, you will be safe."

I nodded, even though I honestly didn't understand. Dad forced a smile, his eyes watery, holding out his hand towards me. I accepted the cell phone with a dazed expression.

"My phone," I breathed, turning it over in my palm. I had gotten it taken away when I had gone over my texting limit.

"Unlimited texting," Dad whispered. He blinked hard. "Now you can always keep in touch."

"Dad," I mumbled, launching myself forward and into his arms. I buried my face in his neck as I trembled, shaking at the prospect of finally leaving home, much too soon for my liking.

I pulled away, staring at my father. He smiled, standing up.

"Come on," he said quietly, grabbing Blaise's suitcase. "Grab your stuff."

I choked back a sob as I walked down the stairs, wondering if this was the last time I would ever see this house. My room.

Chris was hugging Mom by the front door, his face buried in her hair as his shoulders shook. When he lifted his head I saw tears, and the sobs I had been pushing back finally burst forward.

Dad crushed me to his chest, stroking my hair as I bawled, murmuring promises in my ear. Promises he couldn't keep.

I wiped my eyes and forced myself to pull away, choking on air. I embraced my mother, breathing deeply as I smelled her sweet perfume, felt her thin body shaking in my arms. She gripped my arm when I went to shrug my coat on.

"Promise me that you won't do anything that will get you in danger," she demanded. "I need to know."

I nodded, saying, "I promise, Mom."

She let go of me and helped me with my winter coat, stepping back when I bent down to stick my feet in my boots and lace them up.

I straightened in time to see that my brothers had dragged our bags outside to the car, shoving it in the trunk. I walked up next to my dad as Chris and Blaise said their last tear-filled goodbyes before climbing in, leaving the passenger seat to me.

"Dad," I said quietly, and he turned his head towards me. "If you had a choice, would you ever go back to being a Death Eater?"

"No," he muttered. "I will never go back to work for that bastard ever again."

I bit my lip at his answer and stepped out into the cold night, crushing fresh snow beneath my heavy boots as I opened the door to the car and slid in.

A/N: I am sorry for the delay! I was so busy with my other stories, I almost completely forgot about this! I hope the length makes up for the long wait. Forgive me? And review?


	7. Chapter 7

I sat in the passenger seat quietly, numb. My tears had long ago dried. The now-painful thoughts of what might happen to my parents and friends were poison to my mind, and I steered clear of them. I stared out into the dark night, only speaking when Chris asked me for directions.

Mom and Dad had given us explicit instructions on what we were to do and where to go. According to the paper Chris had given me, along with a map, Dad had booked us a hotel room in South Carolina, where we would wait until a family friend came to pick us up.

I didn't personally know the guy who was to pick us up. But the note said that he would have proof of who he was, so that would help. A lot.

Blaise was asleep in the back, sprawled out over his backpack. I pushed my coat off the seat onto the floor, stretching my cramped legs out. I stared at the bright green lights on the dashboard, watching as the time changed from ten-thirty to ten-thirty-one. I blinked slowly and reached out to turn on the radio.

About an hour ago, we had crossed the Mackinac Bridge. We had scrounged up money from between the seats and in cup holders, just barely enough for us to pass. We had gotten lucky, but we definitely had to stop and get some change – there would be other toll booths we would have to cross. Of course, we could always take back roads until we got to our destination, but that would take forever.

Chris glanced at me sideways, and I fiddled with the radio stations absently. Going from pop, to rap, to rock, to country. I settled on a pop station, humming softly.

"You hungry?" Chris asked. I tilted my head to the side and thought about the question longer than I should have to.

"Yeah," I said. Chris changed lanes to get off on the next exit, and I reached back to poke Blaise awake. He snarled tiredly and slapped my hand away, twisting on the seat. I sighed and turned back around, flipping the volume up louder.

I smirked, regaining some of my usual attitude as Blaise groaned and stretched out a hand to turn it down. He couldn't reach.

Chris checked the signs along the side of the road and said, "McDonald's, Wendy's, or Burger King?"

"Wendy's," I answered. Blaise's hand dropped to the floor as he gave up trying to turn the music down.

A couple minutes later Chris pulled into a Wendy's, turning off the engine to search his pockets for his wallet.

With a frown he studied the contents of his wallet, counting the cash he had. "I have forty dollars," he said. "We have to be careful with our money from now on."

I stepped out of the car and shivered at the cold air. I didn't want to put my coat on though. I walked quickly into the warm air of the fast food restaurant.

I turned around once I was inside to see Chris dragging a half-asleep Blaise out of the car. I smirked and moved forward to step in line, my mouth practically salivating at the smell of burgers. I hadn't had one in so long!

Chris shoved Blaise against me, and I stumbled under the added weight.

"Take him to a table, throw some cold water in his face, something, just get him to wake up," my brother grumbled. I sighed and gripped Blaise's arm.

"I want a cheeseburger," I called over my shoulder, dragging my twin behind me. I plopped him down in a booth and slid into the one across from him.

"Blaise," I said, kicking his shin. He jerked and mumbled in his sleep. How the hell did he do this? "Blaise!"

He sat upright, finally waking up. "What?"

"Go tell Chris what you want," I said, slumping in my seat. "He's standing in line."

My brother yawned and stumbled over to Chris.

I closed my eyes and sighed, tilting my head back. Where were we now? We hadn't been traveling in this part of Michigan for a while, and I had long ago stopped reading the map. It was kinda hard when it was dark.

Blaise slipped back into his seat, propping his chin on the palm of his hand. He yawned again.

"How the bloody hell are you so tired?"I asked, frustrated. He blinked at me tiredly.

"I have gifts."

"Whatever."

I rolled my eyes, my gaze sliding to the side to watch as Chris brought our food to the table. He handed me a cup and gestured for me to fill it myself. I glared at him as he took my seat, but I left anyways to get my drink.

Minutes later, I was scowling at Chris again as I slipped into the booth by Blaise. I grabbed my burger and unwrapped it, sending one last glare in my older brother's direction before biting into it.

At least burgers tasted the same, unlike my life, which seemed to be changing way too much for my liking.

/\/\

I was driving now. Hours since we had lat eaten – a short snack of Goldfish Mom had packed for us. We couldn't afford to spend any more money, especially not when we where only in West Virginia.

Chris had desperately needed sleep after driving all night. Blaise had taken over for him, until lunch, and then I switched with him. Now here I was. Driving in near-dark. I hoped Chris would take the wheel again soon. Driving in the dark freaked me out.

Blaise twisted the map around, and I glanced at him.

"You do know how to read a map, right?" I asked worriedly.

"Of course," he said confidently, then frowned as he stared at the map, "not," he added.

I rolled my eyes. "Wanna switch soon? I don't want to end up in Canada because you can't read a map properly."

Blaise frowned again and sighed, closing his eyes.

"Sure," he muttered tiredly. He struggled to fold the map, finally doing it somewhat, then sat back as he waited for me to find an exit so we can swap.

God, I really hoped that leaving our parents – and the Malfoy's – behind was for the best.

A/N: I've had this chapter half-written for a while, then I got hungry, and never finished it. But now it is! So those few people who are still reading this story, thank you for waiting so patiently! I honestly will try to update more often, really I will. Just keep on reviewing. Please?


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